We took advantage of our last day off of the year to make a day trip to Nikko.

Yuya got the tickets for us, and we headed there aboard Tobu Railway’s newest limited express, the Spacia X, which I had long wanted to ride.

Its front end looks somewhat like JR East’s Saphir, giving it a familiar feel, but both are very sleek, and we were excited even before boarding!

This time, the Cockpit Lounge seats in the lead car, which offer a forward view, were too popular for us to book, but he reserved one of the train’s only two semi-private compartments for two.

We thoroughly enjoyed the roughly two-hour journey to Nikko in this compartment.

Crossing several large rivers—the Sumida, Tone, and Watarase among them—and speeding across the Kanto Plain, we could see Mount Tsukuba to the east and even Mount Fuji far off to the west.

After passing Shimo-Imaichi, the station known for its steam locomotives, and climbing a steep grade, we arrived at Tobu-Nikko, the final stop.

As I had imagined, Nikko in winter is cold!

There was no snow falling, but flurries blowing in from the mountains danced through the air, making us shrink into ourselves from the cold.

Yuya said he would treat me to lunch as well, so we walked from the station to the Kanaya Hotel.

The Kanaya Hotel was founded by Zenichiro Kanaya in the early Meiji period and is said to have been one of Japan’s earliest hotels for foreign visitors.

Its wonderful interior, where Japanese and Western styles blend together, is like an architectural museum in itself.

We were getting hungry, so we had lunch in the dining room.

Lunch was a prix fixe course. The fifth-generation proprietor chose the restaurant’s signature sautéed rainbow trout as the main course, while Yuya ordered the Taisho croquette, made from a recipe dating to the Taisho era.

At a time when Western cuisine was not yet commonplace, preparing it with Japanese seasonings such as soy sauce must have been quite a challenge.

Thinking of the efforts of the people of that time made the meal all the more delicious and appreciated.

After admiring the hotel interior once more after our meal, we took a walk along the Daiya River (pronounced Daiyagawa), which flows below the hotel, for a bit of exercise.

The cold, clear winter air was wonderfully refreshing as well.

Feeling thoroughly relaxed, we left the Kanaya Hotel behind.

For the return journey, we rode not the new model but a regular Spacia, sleeping comfortably in its warm carriage.

It was a meaningful Sunday on our first trip together in quite some time.